Just felt like posting this here since I didn't feel like turning it into a debate with the person, since they seemed to have made up their mind and probably wouldn't have changed it no matter what I said. I'm sure some of you can figure out what I'm talking about but I'm not going to say directly.

A relatively popular TK artist posted something that many people -- most, it seemed -- commented made them very uncomfortable and disgusted. It was still a TK pic, but the subject and setting of it made it seem particularly depraved to many; the image featuring the abuse -- mainly via tickling, but some other methods -- of a type of individual who is actually vulnerable to abuse in real life.

The artist brushed off most of the criticism in various ways, but I'd like to give my counterargument to some of their points.

I'd like to say first that I do not mean to imply that this person is simply justifying something they know is wrong or anything. They appeared totally content with their work.

One of these points was that people around here are used to seeing "depraved" things on FA all the time, and they seemed to imply that people shouldn't be upset by their art because of this. I also assume they're referring to the general "yuckiness" of many people's fetishes and such.

I know I'm just screaming into the void on this website when it comes to morality or ethics or whatever. I know this is heavily based on my opinion, but that's the title, and I know many people agree with me.

I think some things just hit too close to home. I know that sounds hypocritical what with all we draw and write and enjoy in this community; we draw and write things about characters getting kidnapped, strapped down and tickled for our enjoyment. Characters get sent to prisons to be tickled forever. They cry and beg, etc. You're probably getting turned on by this description alone.

We enjoy it BECAUSE it's unrealistic. There are no tickle prisons. Your OC isn't real (sorry). Nobody's that ticklish to a feather. There's no such thing as witches, let alone ones obsessed with tickling. It's like fighting in movies: it's more fun that way, even if it isn't realistic and couldn't possibly happen.

I think that's commonly a key difference between art people enjoy and the kind that makes people say "what the fuck" and unwatch an artist. The realism of it, the thought and meditation put into it, mixed with a clear message: "I get turned on by this."

Some of this art just makes most people draw a very clear line and say "too far." In my years of being around here, it almost always gets drawn at real loss of value as a person or human suffering of certain groups of people. It's just my opinion, but for me, I think these things just have no place in what I enjoy.

And frankly, I think that's why these give most of us a sick, disgusted feeling, one that seems to point a finger at ourselves as well. These kind of images draw us in with a cute pair of feet or an appealing art style or being created by someone we usually enjoy work from, but one we see the grander image, we realize what we've been turned on by and despise it.

I know what some of you are thinking: "it's just fantasy, you wouldn't really do any of the things you draw to real people." I think that's kinda the point. They're not real. Not even close. These works are too real.

I know this is a huge, wall-of-text rant about a stupid picture. I guess it feels personal to me this time. I know some will disagree or whatever. This isn't an "if you like this stuff go to hell" post; I have nothing against you, just the art. If you're going to disagree I only ask that you be reasonable and not jump to insults or anything.